To want a cleaner when I work part time

[Cleanqueennot]

I am currently on maternity leave and baby is now 6 months old. I am finding that even though I’m not working at the moment I am struggling to keep up with cleaning. Baby is very needy and we have a large 4 bedroom house. Just hoovering alone would take more than 45 mins (when I do it) and knackers me out so badly and baby doesn’t even nap for that long during the day. I am wondering how on earth I will manage when I’m back at work soon. I will be going back to work part time 3 days a week. So if I’m struggling now I’m off work I think I will struggle once I’m back to work.

Also, I used to work 5 days per week before I went on maternity but one reason I’m going part time is because I want to do stuff with my son on those two days. Our library doesn’t open weekends so I’d like to take him to library once a week and just do generally nice things together like go to the beach etc. not spend those 2 valuable days cleaning the house while he’s watching peppa pig all day! Weekends would also take the pressure off my husband and me, and we could spend that time as a family rather than taking shifts to clean the house.

AIBU to want a cleaner every week/fortnight? Money is tight at the moment on statutory mat pay but once I’m back to work we will be about £1000 better off each month than we are now. It’s a lot less than what I used to earn full time but I think still affordable? I probably wouldn’t want the cleaner in our master bedroom or the office/box room so it would be like cleaning a 2 bedroom house house really (well a large 2 bed house with 3 reception rooms!)

I guess now I can see everyone saying “if you can afford it…” I am thinking I should have stated our income. When I say I think it’s affordable, it is but we would definitely notice that money leaving our account I think. Husbands salary covers all of our bills but my salary is what we have left to live on e.g food, travel, stuff for baby/house and I will be earning £1600 per month. While I know many people manage on much less and it is a decent salary, it’s not like I’m rich IYSWIM.

No brainer op - go for it

If men were conditioned to be responsible for 'wife work' then, believe me, they would all employ cleaners.

The sad thing about these posts is that it's always the woman's job to sort all this stuff with men 'helping' and not even thinking about what needs to be done.

I haven’t discussed with my mum but she has commented in the past about this when she has heard other people have cleaners so it’s just something that was in the back of my head.

My husband does a lot already bless him. He works 50+ hours a week and still comes home and does most of the cooking and cleans the kitchen etc. So during the week it is mostly down to me and I will be working from home too. As I said, weekends we share the cleaning out a bit more with one person looking after baby, but when I am back to work weekends will be even more precious family time for us.

A cleaner is a life changer when you have children. I have always had one.

Yes do it, we had a cleaner for years when our boys were little. We live in a different area now, but I am still friends with her years later.

I work 4 days and we have a cleaner. It's money well spent when you have young kids.

YANBU. We got a cleaner when DS2 was about 4 months old and in a super clingy phase. Even though I wasn't doing paid work I had limited time when I could fit in cleaning and baby hated the noise of the hoover. You can't really clean with a baby in a sling as you need to bend down a lot. We were spending our Saturdays cleaning instead of having family time.

So we have a brilliant cleaner who just comes for 2 hours a week - we have a 4 bed so she doesn't do it all, just the downstairs, the upstairs bathroom and the kids' rooms usually. We pay £30/week. I'm usually out with the baby at a group when she comes and when I come in it's like the grownup version of when Father Christmas has been. We're all happier with more free time, and the cleaning she does would take us way longer than 2 hours because we'd have the kids around our ankles/messing things up as we go/"helping".

I work PT because I want to spend the rest that time with my children, not cleaning the house. I had a cleaner through both sets of mat leave too, because I don't like cleaning but want a clean house. Get that cleaner!

Why not ? No need to feel guilty about it.

My sibling and I are retired and we were saying we would really like cleaners so we can do more interesting things. Go for it if you can afford it.

I've always said even if I only earn enough money to cover the cleaner I would still pay for the cleaner.

I hate housework, it's so annoying. I still keep the kitchen clean etc.

It also saves a huge amount of arguments between DH and I

I had a cleaner on maternity leave too.

Why do you feel the need to justify it.

You don’t have to justify it to anyone - if your mum is 500 miles away you don’t even have to tell her, although I have had several cleaners over the years and I promise you none has had any interest in my husband!

I guess now I can see everyone saying “if you can afford it…” I am thinking I should have stated our income. When I say I think it’s affordable, it is but we would definitely notice that money leaving our account I think. Husbands salary covers all of our bills but my salary is what we have left to live on e.g food, travel, stuff for baby/house and I will be earning £1600 per month. While I know many people manage on much less and it is a decent salary, it’s not like I’m rich IYSWIM.

What's wrong with your husband? 😂

That’s what I’m wondering now I know that that is what cleaners do!

Not sure if you saw my post above about income but I see you would still pay for your cleaner if you only had money for that.

I guess i worry that we won’t be able to cope financially, even though on paper £1600 is plenty to live on. Some would say £600 is plenty to live in but right now we are not finding it so easy. Being on stat mat pay at the moment is really tough and we are struggling. I don’t want to be reckless with our money as soon as I start back to work again.

Haha I know it’s such a stupid comment from my mum. I wouldn’t feel the need to tell her but she would find out sooner or later. Because she lives so far away, when she does come to visit she will stay for 1-2 weeks. But not too bothered about what she would say once I’ve already got one!

I'm a cleaner OP, I have people who have weekly cleans and some who have them fortnightly. You should find a cleaner to do fortnightly. If you can afford it, do it!
I've had clients who were on maternity leave , I don't judge. You don't have to tell your mum, but really it's up to you whether you have a cleaner.
Good luck

Hah love this !

@cleanqueennot

It depends how you view it as wasting though. You want to spend time enjoying your baby and a cleaner will help with that. That's money well spent in my opinion.

If it takes some of the stress of a young family away, then do it.

I have about the same amount of money as you. We are not well off at all. But I save on other things. I don't have many clothes, I don't go out much, I don't have any expensive hobbies etc.

We're not rich either op!

How much will it actually cost you?

This is an off tangent sidenote but if hoovering is the main thing, Roomba?

Did the same thing: got a cleaner and cut corners elsewhere to be able to afford it. Don't regret it all. It restored my sanity.

I haven’t contacted any cleaners yet but quickly looked online for a local company and it would be £18 per hour for fortnightly cleans. Or £15 per hour for weekly. Not sure I would use them unless increasing the hourly rate for less frequent cleans is what they all do! But I guess if they did 2 hours fortnightly it’s only £72 per month so not that much in the grand scheme of things. I’m just not sure if 2 hours is realistically enough time